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Mulino drug dealer arrested after Molalla traffic stop

The arrest led to the idenification of the driver as a dealer known only as Swerve, tied to a string of area burglaries

A longstanding investigation into a string of Molalla-area burglaries was solved with the arrest of a Mulino man last week after he was pulled over for a traffic stop in Molalla.

Lt. Robert Wurpes, a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said Thursday afternoon that CCSO deputies and Molalla Police seized two ounces of heroin, an ounce of methamphetamine and a handgun at the traffic stop and arrested the driver, Bryan Jeffery Urban, 32, of Mulino.

Wurpes said over the past few months, Clackamas County Special Investigations Unit (SIU) detectives had received tips that a man  known to investigators at the time only as "Swerve"  was dealing drugs and taking in stolen items and guns for trade in the south county area. Simultaneously, CCSO property detectives were investigating a large string of burglaries and thefts in the same area. Evidence obtained during the traffic stop led police to later identify Urban as Swerve. He was arrested on charges of being an ex-con in possession of a firearm; possession of controlled substances, heroin and methamphetamine and on outstanding warrants for drug charges and theft. Urban was booked and lodged at the Clackamas County Jail. Further investigation led detectives to execute a search warrant at Urban's home in Mulino.

In Urban's residence, investigators reportedly found 17 firearms, including shotguns, rifles and gun silencers. They also uncovered a large stockpile of stolen goods, including a golf cart, chainsaws, mountain bikes, air compressors, and many other items. Wurpes said investigators have so far tied three open burglaries, two felony thefts, and two vehicle break-ins to the case, and the investigation continues. Police are actively working to return the stolen items to their owners. "One of the big challenges of cases like these is getting property back to their owners," said Property Detective Sgt. Matt Swanson. Swanson encourages the recording of serial numbers off all items you own, as well as adding your own "owner applied number" (OAN). These numbers should be permanently engraved and unique to the owner.

Wurpes urged theft victims in the Molalla-Mulino area to contact Clackamas County sheriff's deputies at 503-655-8218 so they can identify their property. Serial numbers and OANs can be entered by police into databases that help police return stolen property back to the owners more quickly when recovered.